View on the Potomac – Near Harper's Ferry
In this Virgina landscape produced soon after the American Civil War, the Blue Ridge Mountains dominate the picturesque vista behind two gentlemen in top hats riding on horseback along a road on the high ground above the Potomac River.
Nathaniel Currier, who established a successful New York-based lithography firm in 1835, produced thousands of hand-colored prints in various sizes that together create a vivid panorama of mid-to-late nineteenth century American life. Expansion led, in 1857, to a partnership with James Merritt Ives (1824–1895), the brother-in-law of Nathaniel's younger brother Charles; the firm was renamed Currier & Ives. People eagerly acquired Currier & Ives lithographs, such as those featuring spectacular American landscapes like this one, or rural and city views, hunting and fishing scenes, domestic life and numerous other subjects, as an inexpensive way to decorate their homes or business establishments. Although it was unusual for a woman to achieve such prominence in a printing firm, Frances Flora (Fanny) Palmer was one of the most important artists working for Nathaniel Currier, and later Currier and Ives, between 1849 and 1868, when she produced approximately 200 of the firm's best landscapes and most engaging scenes of daily life.
Nathaniel Currier, who established a successful New York-based lithography firm in 1835, produced thousands of hand-colored prints in various sizes that together create a vivid panorama of mid-to-late nineteenth century American life. Expansion led, in 1857, to a partnership with James Merritt Ives (1824–1895), the brother-in-law of Nathaniel's younger brother Charles; the firm was renamed Currier & Ives. People eagerly acquired Currier & Ives lithographs, such as those featuring spectacular American landscapes like this one, or rural and city views, hunting and fishing scenes, domestic life and numerous other subjects, as an inexpensive way to decorate their homes or business establishments. Although it was unusual for a woman to achieve such prominence in a printing firm, Frances Flora (Fanny) Palmer was one of the most important artists working for Nathaniel Currier, and later Currier and Ives, between 1849 and 1868, when she produced approximately 200 of the firm's best landscapes and most engaging scenes of daily life.
Artwork Details
- Title: View on the Potomac – Near Harper's Ferry
- Artist: Frances Flora Bond Palmer (American (born England), Leicester 1812–1876 New York)
- Publisher: Lithographed and published by Currier & Ives (American, active New York, 1857–1907)
- Date: 1866
- Medium: Hand-colored lithograph
- Dimensions: Image: 15 × 20 in. (38.1 × 50.8 cm)
Image with text: 16 1/2 in. × 20 in. (41.9 × 50.8 cm)
Sheet: 19 × 24 in. (48.3 × 61 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Gift of A. S. Colgate, 1952
- Object Number: 52.520.6
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Multiple artists/makers
1866
Frances Flora Bond Palmer
Nathaniel Currier
1849–56
Frances Flora Bond Palmer
Nathaniel Currier
1849–56
Frances Flora Bond Palmer
Nathaniel Currier
1849
Frances Flora Bond Palmer
Nathaniel Currier
1849–56
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